Youth Centred Research Brief Report 1 Co‐collaborating with youth as active stakeholders in research

Given the scarcity of youth participatory research, and that young people are rarely consulted about the issues that impact on them (Langhout & Thomas, 2010), the following brief research reports hope to share knowledge gained

in using collaborative and engaging research methods with young people.

The brief research reports are an open‐access series offering 5 brief research reports about collaborating with youth as active stakeholders in research.

The series includes the following reports, each building on the previous:

• Brief Report 1:Co‐collaboratingwith youth as active stakeholders in research

• Brief Report 2: Establishing an active Youth Reference Group

• Brief Report 3: Assent process, group partnership building and visual ethics

• Brief Report 4: Participatory workshops in action

• Brief Report 5: Joint Dissemination and Communication:

Youth informed stakeholder exhibition

The research briefs include the strengths, challenges and lessons learned about co‐collaborating and engaging with youth participation in this research project.

The research briefs provide an overview on the theoretical underpinnings, ethical considerations, ways to establish a Youth Reference Group, implementing participatory workshops themselves and dissemination and communication of key research findings.

The overall aim of the report series is to share the steps taken in the youth centred pilot research project. We used a qualitative, visual methodology of participatory video, art (drawing, painting) and photovoice to explore youth educational experiences. Methods that originated and used widely in humanitarian situations and with vulnerable communities due to their ‘bottom‐up’ approach. Key themes were co‐constructed from conversations triggered by the visual data and disseminated through a youth‐led exhibition.

The pilot project and the creation of Youth Reference Group took place at Monash University, Faculty of Education, Educational Psychology and Inclusive Education Academic Community in Victoria, Australia.